Work tools have changed a lot over the past decade. The way we work hasn’t necessarily caught up. The current pandemic is forcing those lucky enough to still have jobs to rethink how they work. The old world of email attachments and mass ccs is no longer safe, efficient, or pleasant. Email still has its place, but where outlook was once the hub, chat apps like Slack and Teams have taken over. Cloud based file systems make document collaboration seamless whereas phishing has made opening any email attachment irresponsible at best. Below is a list of common work tasks and which tools one should use in most any case.
Sharing files
Cloud Storage: With modern cloud storage, sending email attachments should be a thing of the past. Attachments are copies frozen in time. Cloud storage, by contrast, provides everyone access to the latest version of a file and sync changes instantly. Most cloud storage can integrate with chat apps. Sending a file link over email should be a last resort for external collaborators. Never attach a file to an email. Whenever possible let the person know to expect the file, what they should look for file name, file type etc. Email attachments, especially office docs and PDFs are the most common ways to spread malware. Explicitly banning email attachments ensures any attachment is looked on with suspicion.
Tip: When opening a shared file link, sign into your drive account in another tab before clicking the link. If the link is genuine, you will be taken directly to the file and won’t be asked for authentication. If you’re asked for a username and password. Refresh the tab to make sure you’re signed in.
Communicating head’s up and short questions with teammates
Chat: work chat is the hub of modern work, especially when working remotely. It does so much well that email has struggled with since its inception. It’s important to remember with any written communication the reader will project tone based on their preconceived notions. This is why one must avoid discussing controversial topics or provide criticism in chat.
Discussing plans, debating strategy, sorting disagreements: Video chat or face to face.
Video Conferencing: Discussion happens more freely when you see and hear who you’re you’re speaking with. Tone and body language conveys intention and meaning more accurately. Ideas flow more naturally and debate maintains a friendly tone. Especially when working remotely, video chat is essential for developing team cohesion. A good rule of thumb is if a text conversation goes back and forth 3 times, it’s time to jump into a meeting. If you are a completely remote team, consider scheduling non-work related coffee breaks or happy hours for teammates to shoot the breeze and get to know each other.
Company, organization/department wide announcements
Blog and Email: This is one of the only areas email excels. Sending company wide announcements over email is a great way to ensure people read them. Email works best as an RSS reader of sorts. Internal emails should never require a reply. These emails should also link to a blog post with the same content. This allows coworkers to discuss the announcement in the post’s comments. Having them in a blog also makes it easy to link to and refer back to the information long after the email’s been deleted.
Communicating outside the company
Phone call or email: External communication with people outside the company is the only two way communication appropriate over email, mainly because it’s a standard form of communication everyone has. Usually external communication is far less frequent than internal, but for frequent collaborators, most chat apps have ways of adding external users to conversations. As with chat, if something needs to be discussed or information could easily be misunderstood, pick up the phone and call the individual.
With all the excellent new tools available for work, knowing the strengths of each and choosing the best tool for the task goes a long way towards completing work efficiently together as a team. While most these tools can technically accomplish any of these tasks, knowing the best tool at your disposal for each task ensures you’ll spend less time managing the tools and more time meeting your team’s goals.